Debris collector for water drainage pipes



Sept. 9, 1969 G. s. mum 3,465,885

DEBRIS COLLECTOR FOR WATER DRAINAGE PIPES Filed May 22, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ysmazjnnazz fez/Mp ATTORNEY p 9, 1969 G. s. TRUMP 3,465,885

- DEBRIS COLLECTOR FOR WAT-ER DRAINAGE PIPES Filed May 22, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M A i H i i'fi; "F132,. a 6

I O| O\O OOOOOO INVENTOR 1 gflmgzivm/zz Wmwp ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,465,885 DEBRIS COLLECTOR FOR WATER DRAINAGE PIPES George Samuel Trump, 6100 Madison St., West New York, NJ. 07093 Filed May 22, 1967, Ser. No. 640,058 Int. Cl. B0111 23/20, 23/00 U.S. Cl. 210-447 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The combination of a debris collector and water drainage means, such as a downspout gutter arrangement, for collecting leaves and the like and permitting the discharge of water. A casing is connected with the bottom of the downspout, the casing having a removable inclined perforated base to receive the debris and serving as a primary water passageway, there being an enclosed compartment within the casing having perforated walls and serving as a secondary water passageway, the top of said casing and bottom of said downspout forming an overflow passageway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention This invention relates to debris collectors for drainage pipes, and is particularly directed to devices of this class used with leaders or downspouts connected to building gutters.

The known art A common expedient for the prevention of clogging of gutters and downspouts with such debris as leaves and muck is the use of a section of wire mesh generally positioned at the junction of the gutter and downspout or within the drainage pipe leading to the ground pipe. Though such conventional expedients normally do not interfere with the flow of water and are capable of collecting leaves and other debris, the usefulness is of short duration inasmuch as they become ineffective when the wire mesh becomes clogged with accumulations of debris, thereby causing a backing-up of water with wellknown damaging results.

Objectives of the invention My invention has for its main objective the provision of an effective debris collector of the above-mentioned category without the aforementioned disadvantages. More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide means in association with a downspout-gutter arrangement whereby leaves and other debris that usually collect within the gutter will be washed down into and deposited at a readily accessible region, at the same time permitting water from the gutter freely to flow down the downspout and ultimately into the ground pipe. And in this aspect of my invention it is another objective thereof to provide additional discharge means, so that even with a steady and voluminous flow of water from the gutter, and even with a large accumulation of collected debris, there will be positive assurance against a backing up of water into the gutter, thereby obviating the damage that often results from the use of certain conventional devices, as aforesaid.

It is another object of my invention to enable a ready inspection of the amount of debris operatively collected by the device, and to provide means quickly and effectively to remove the accumulations.

Still another object is to provide a device having the aforesaid features, and yet which is of simple construction, relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

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Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given.

Summary of the invention The debris collecting unit of this invention comprises a casing interposed between the downspout and the ground pipe, and positioned preferably within ready reach of a person standing on the ground. The downspout extends into the upper portion of the casing, said upper portion being so proportioned relative to the downspout as to leave spacing therebetween which constitutes an overflow discharge passageway for any backed-up water, as will more clearly appear from the description hereinafter given. Against one wall of the casing is an enclosed compartment formed from walls of wire mesh or perforated material, the interior of said compartment constituting a secondary discharge passageway for water discharged from the downspout and accumulated within the casing, the perforations in said compartment being sufficiently small to keep out any of said debris. Positioned within the lower portion of said casing is an inclined removable base made of wire mesh or other suitable perforated material, said base being adjacent said compartment and extending across the entire width of the casing, and positioned so as to receive all the debris discharged into the casing from the downspout. The arrangement is such that the region between the inlet and outlet portions of said casing constitutes the primary water discharge passageway of this device.

The upper part of the casing has a removable transparent closure or window so arranged as to enable a viewer to see the said inclined base and any debris accumulations thereon. The aperture covered by said panel is so proportioned as to enable the said inclined base to be passed therethrough for removing the debris.

The downspout extends upwardly to join the gutter at a specially formed trough proportioned to receive debris and water from the gutter, the arrangement being such that the water in the trough will wash the debris accumulations into and down the downspout for operative collection within said casing.

Description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the debris collector of this invention shown operatively connected to the gutter and ground pipe of a building.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the debris collector unit of FIG. 1, fragments being broken away for clarity, the dot-dash lines showing the position of the base member when operatively in place.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation, partially in section, of the special trough connection between the downspout and gutter as employed in this invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section of the debris collector unit of FIG. 2, the section being taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a section of FIG. 4 taken substantially along line 55, the window member being shown separated from the unit the debris collector tray being shown by dot-dash lines in a removed position, the path of removal being indicated by the dot-dash arrow.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged section of FIG. 4 taken sub stantially along line 6-6.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section of FIG. 4 taken along line 77.

Description of preferred embodiment In the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, the debris collector unit, generally designated 15, is in operative communication with the Water drainage means generally designated 16, the latter comprising the downspout 17, sometimes referred to as a leader pipe, and the gutter 18, the juncture of the downspout and gutter comprising an enlarged trough 19 to be more specifically hereinafter described. The said debris collector unit 15 comprises the laterally enclosed casing 20 having an upper inlet portion 21 and a lower discharge portion 22, a perforated base member 23 and a rear compartment member 24 with perforated front and top wall portions 26 and 25, respectively, communicating with the interior 27 of the casing 20 and the said discharge portion thereof. The said base member 23, shown in the form of a tray, is in engagement with the lateral wall portions 28, 29 and 30 of the casing and with the wall 26 of the said compartment 24, the latter, in the preferred form illustrated, having flanged portions 34 and 35 thereof in abutment with the rear wall portion 31 of the casing 20.

As will more clearly appear from the description hereinafter given, the said interior portion 27 of the casing between said respective inlet and discharge portions 21 and 22 thereof constitutes the main or primary passageway for liquid and debris delivered into the collector unit by the said drainage means 16, solid matter being operatively deposited on the said base member 23, water flowing down through the perforations thereof and out through the discharge portion 22 into the ground pipe 32. Water will also enter the interior of the said compartment 24 through the perforated walls thereof and flow downwardly through said discharge portion 22 and into said ground pipe 32. This will occur especially when the base member 23 is clogged with debris and there is a backing up of accumulated water. Hence the interior 24a of said compartment 24 serves as a secondary water passageway to prevent an exceptionally rapid accumulation and backing up of water. There are spaced portions, generally designated 33, between the bottom of pipe 17 and the adjacent upper portion 21 of the casing 24), such spaced portions constituting overflow discharge means.

In the particular embodiment shown in the drawings, the casing 20 has upper lateral sides 36 and 37 diverging downwardly to substantially the medial portion of the casing, said walls 36 and 37 meeting the said respective lower walls 29 and 28 converging downwardly to join the said discharge portion 22. The upper front wall 38 extends from said inlet section 21 downwardly and forwardly to meet the said lower front wall 30 at the juncture 39. Said wall 38 contains the apertured portion 40, the transparent window 41 made of glass or plastic being detachably secured by fasteners 42 to the marginal portion of said wall 38.

The rear wall 31 of the casing 20 is proportioned to correspond to the configuration of the lateral edges of the said side walls 36, 37, 29 and 28, said rear wall extending down from said inlet portion 21 to said outlet portion 22. The said compartment member 24, which has its front wall 26 spaced forwardly from said rear wall 31, is attached to said rear wall 31 by the top flange 34 extending downwardly from the back of said upper wall 25, and by the two opposite lateral flanges 35 and 350: which are in abutment with the inner surface of said rear wall 31. Said front wall 26 of compartment member 24 contains a bottom forwardly extending flange 43 in underlying relation to the said base member 23, the flange 43 sloping downwardly from the upper region of lateral wall 29 to the lower region of the opposite lateral wall 28. The compartment 24 thus has a bottom opening 44. Upper lateral walls 45 and 46 and the lower lateral walls 47 and 48 of the compartment member 24 are in engagement with the respective lateral walls 36, 37, 29 and 28 of the casing 20. It is thus apparent that the member 24 is enclosed both laterally and at the top, and open only at the bottom. The respective upper and front walls 25 and 26 of member 24 contain perforations generally designated 49, the arrangement being such that water can enter said compartment 24 only through said perforated portions, and can flow downwardly through the interior 24athe aforesaid secondary passagewayand out through opening 44.

As aforesaid, the said base member 23 is in the form of a tray with perforated bottom wall 50, and peripheral walls 51, 52, 53 and 54. In the embodiment illustrated, the base 50 rests upon the said flange 43, and the said peripheral walls are in engagement with the adjacent walls of the casing 20 and compartment 24. Said base member 23 is thus positioned in intercepting relation to the said primary passageway 27 constituting the free interior portion of the casing 20. The said base member 23 is removably supported within the casing, and can be removed through the apertured portion 40 of the upper front wall 38 when the window 41 is operatively removed, as in dicated in FIG. 5, said apertured portion 40 being dimensioned to permit such removal.

The said downspout 17 extends downwardly from the gutter into the said upper inlet portion 21 of the casing; and since the downspout is smaller in cross section than the inlet portion 21, spaces 33 are provided between the downspout and said portion 21 so that said spaces may function as overflow discharge apertures, as will more clearly hereinafter appear. The top of the downspout 17 is connected to the discharge pipe 55 of the said trough 19, the latter comprising the laterally opposite upwardly diverging walls 56 and 57 and the front and rear walls 58 and 59, respectively, suitably aflixed to the gutter 18. Said gutter has the bottom portion 60 thereof above the discharge pipe open, so as to permit water and debris from the gutter to flow downwardly into said discharge pipe and into the downspout 17. In the form illustrated, the base of the gutter has two opposite portions 61 and 62 separated therefrom and bent downwardly into engagement with the said walls 56 and 57 of the trough 19, thereby providing an enlarged chamber 13a for receiving accumulated debris and permitting the water from the gutter to wash such debris downwardly.

In the operation of this device, water and debris from the downspout 17 enter the inlet portion 21 of the casing 20 and flow downwardly through the said primary passageway 27 thereof, the water passing both through the apertures 49 in the upper wall 25 of compartment member 24 and the apertures in the base 50 of tray 23, the fluidi flowing down through the lower discharge portion 22 of the casing and into the ground pipe 32. Debris that is carried down by the water is deposited within the tray 23. Should the perforations in the walls of the tray become clogged with debris, any water accumulating above the debris (identified by the reference number 63 in FIGS. 4 and 5), will pass through the apertured portions 49 of wall 26 and flow downwardly through the secondary passageway 24a of compartment 24. Should there be such a rapid accumulation of water as to extend above the top of member 24, the water will be discharged externally through the said overflow outlets 33 at the upper portion of said inlet portion 21.

The transparent window 41 enables ready inspection of the interior of the casing 20. Should it be noted that there is an excessive accumulation of debris in the tray, the fasteners 42 of the window 41 are removed, and the window detached, whereby the tray is removed through the apertured portion 40 to dispose of the accumulated debris. The tray and window can then be operatively replaced.

It is thus apparent that this invention provides a convenient means of removing debris that may enter and clog the drainage system, and at the same time permit the discharge of water even under conditions where an excess amount of debris has accumulated.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein.

I claim:

1. The combination of a debris collector unit and water drainage means, the said collector unit comprising a casing with an upper inlet portion and a lower outlet portion having an opening constituting a discharge portion, said drainage means having a pipe communicating with said inlet portion, a base member with apertured portions removably supported within the casing and positioned at an inclination within the casing to receive deposits from said pipe, the region of the casing between said inlet and discharge portions and extending through said apertured portions of said base member constituting a primary passageway for fluid discharges from said pipe, a flanged member secured Within said casing to define a compartment Within said casing having apertured portions communicating between said primary passageway and the interior of said compartment, said compartment having a bottom opening communicating with the said outlet of said discharge portion, whereby said compartment constitutes a secondary passageway for fluid discharges from said pipe, said base member and said bottom opening both being spaced above said opening in the outlet portion of said casing, said opening underlying and being in intercepting relation to both of said passageways, said compartment having adjacent the said bottom opening thereof a supporting member in underlying engagement with said base member, whereby the bottom of said base member and the bottom of said compartment are maintained at substantially the same distance above the said outlet of the discharge portion of said casing, said casing having an opening above said base member for permitting access to the top of said base member, said opening being dimensioned to permit the passage of said base member therethrough, and a removable closure member for said opening which is separate from said base member, said casing including lateral sides which diverge from said inlet portion to a medial portion of the casing and which converge from said medial portion to said outlet portion.

2. The combination of a debris collector unit and water drainage means according to claim 1, said drainage pipe being so positioned and proportioned with respect to said inlet portion as to leave a space therebetween, said space constituting a third passageway for backed-up water from said first and second passageways.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,247,118 11/1917 Kershaw. 1,383,547 7/1921 Konsalik 210-447 X 1,653,473 12/1927 Schulz 210-447 X 2,644,585 7/1953 Ambrosi 210-310 X REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner T. A. GRANGER, Assistant Examiner 

